photography

All posts tagged photography

Splendid Morning

Posted by Photonstopper on October 22, 2013
Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment
Photo: Still waters, autumn colors, and Moon. Photo by James Guilford.

Moon and Lagoon on a Splendid Morning

Goodness! I did not realize how long it has been since my last post here! Oftimes, of late, I post favorite photos to Google+ and, if they’re really good, to my personal portfolio site(s) forgetting this space. The mornings lately, when clear, have been splendid, offering clear, early-morning light at a time when I’m out and about. The trees have reached the height of their coloration for the autumn season so, when the sun shines, the landscape is impressive.  Today I stopped by one of my favorite spots, the Cleveland Metroparks’ Lagoon Area, for a few minutes enjoying the view (seen above). As I was leaving the area and pulling my car onto the roadway, a beautiful red fox emerged from brush at the roadside, trotted across the pavement, and disappeared once more into the brush on the opposite side. Although I had my camera on the seat beside me, the entire event was much too brief for me to record; I was driving, after all. It was a splendid morning, outstanding among several.

Autumn at the lagoon

Posted by Photonstopper on October 9, 2013
Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment
Photo: Autumn scene at a lagoon. Photo by James Guilford

Clear Blue Sky Colors the Lagoon

In the early afternoon, I stopped by the Cleveland Metroparks’ Rocky River Reservation in North Olmsted for a brief visit. The air is now scented with the lovely, sweet perfume of autumn — drying tree leaves — and the sun gently warmed the air. The reservation’s lagoon was nearly dry earlier this year but now has a decent water level. Ducks could be seen paddling about, and a couple turtles were basking in the sun. As I left, I turned and shot a few images of the scene.

A Good Belt … of Venus

Posted by Photonstopper on October 9, 2013
Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment
Photo: Belt of Venus phenomenon. Photo by James Guilford.

The Broad Belt of Venus – Waking Ducks on Pond

Excited by the prospect of, at long last, getting a nice picture of the Belt of Venus phenomenon, I set out before dawn. My destination was a spot in Brunswick, Ohio where there is available the best view of the western horizon about which I know. I worried, as I sat behind a pickup truck at a red light, that I would be too late to see, much less photograph, the colorful sight. Seemingly much later I arrived and was rewarded with a commanding view of the peaking Belt of Venus. The first “best” shot is shown above, with the broad dark band of Earth’s shadow along the horizon, colorful areas above. I shot a good many more images as the minutes passed, and watched the shadow band grow more and more narrow as the sun rose behind me and the shadow dropped beyond the horizon. As the dark band disappeared I heard the calls of approaching geese. My shot was already framed and, as I’d hoped and expected, the Canada geese glided in for a landing on a small pond in the foreground of my second “best” image. I stayed a bit longer and shot a few more frames but as I watched, the colors faded and sunlight could be seen crawling towards me across the treetops below. Fingers cold and stiff, I collapsed the tripod, stowed my gear, and headed off to breakfast. That was a fine way to start my day: with a good Belt … of Venus!

Photo: Late phase of Belt of Venus. Photo by James Guilford

Dark Band Disappears as Geese Arrive

The Belt of Venus

Posted by Photonstopper on October 8, 2013
Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment
Photo: The Belt of Venus effect. Photo by James Guilford

The Belt of Venus over Suburban Community

The lovely atmospheric effect called the Belt of Venus was quite visible this morning; I was able to capture it just before the rising sun wiped it out. Looking west, just a bit after sunrise, we see a dark shadow band near the horizon — Earth’s shadow projecting off through the atmosphere. Above the shadow are warm colors caused by atmospheric scattering of light. I’m hoping, some time over the next few clear mornings, to capture earlier and better views of this beautiful phenomenon.

Sculpted vapor

Posted by Photonstopper on October 6, 2013
Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment
Photo: Thunderhead forming. Photo by James Guilford.

Sculpted Vapor

I’ve not been able to get out with the camera for a while and I missed my “photo Friday” entirely this week due to miserable rain. This evening, however, a break in the clouds and precipitation gave a glimpse of what was responsible: a towering cloud was building above scudding dark remnants, set against a sharp blue sky. I found an open spot and, with my little PowerShot G11, captured what I could of the scene. In the space of about 10 minutes, the boiling dome of cloud billowed upwards. As it exploded upward, the white cloud was sculpted by high winds cutting grooves in the tower and rolling filaments into streamers off to the north. It wasn’t long before the building storm cloud was hidden by much lower, less interesting layers. It was a fine few minutes spent watching nature sculpt water vapor.

Just walk away

Posted by Photonstopper on September 27, 2013
Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , . 1 Comment
Photo: Great Blue Heron at the top of a waterfall. Photo by James Guilford.

Great Blue Heron Walking Away

This morning I was driving in the Olmsted Township (Ohio) area and felt like I could use some quiet time. A favorite place is David Fortier River Park in Olmsted Falls. As soon as I got out of my car I knew the park was the right place for me. I began my stroll along a path that leads to the falls, photographing interesting and beautiful rocks and plants along the way. As I drew closer to the falls I noticed something gray standing up from the shadowed rocks and water … a Great Blue Heron was looking for breakfast! Dressed in light-colored clothing, I felt the bird would quickly spot me and flee the scene. No, it held its position, standing in the water flowing over exposed rock. I shot many images, expecting each to be my last before the great bird’s departure. The heron stayed still, until I got a little too close for comfort. The Great Blue Heron — actually a bit small – probably a youngster — warily began to stroll away from me. It walked across dry rocks, then out to the main falls, and along the edge of the cascade. Finally it reached the end of the falls across the river from me and too far for good picture-taking. The bird felt safe and I was out of time. I headed back to the car. We had made our decisions to just walk away.

Letting the light shine through

Posted by Photonstopper on September 24, 2013
Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment
Photo: Colorful leaf with dark background. Photo by James Guilford.

A Single Leaf Glows in a Late-Day Spotlight

On a recent afternoon walk around Hinckley Lake, a glimpse of something caught my full attention. There, at the edge of the shadowy woods, was a red leaf illuminated from behind by a narrow beam of sunlight. The leaf was bright as flame and struck me as ever so beautiful. Studying the image later I noticed the leaf was not perfect in structure, nor were its neighbors on the same plant. I guess the lesson here is that, despite our imperfections, we can shine and be admired if we let the inner light shine through.

In a fog

Posted by Photonstopper on August 23, 2013
Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a comment

I paid a visit to David Fortier River Park in Olmsted Falls this morning hoping to use my Canon DSLR to capture some morning scenes. I forgot, however, how cold the camera was from in-house storage and how well-insulated the camera bag was. I uncapped the lens at the park in the humid morning air and voila! Dew instantly covered the lens! It was unusable for the entire time I was at the park. So, I used my iPod Touch to capture this and a couple of other scenes. Lesson: Have the camera out the whole trip and the lens will be free of fog (besides being available for instant use)! Also, the iPod is a pretty darned good “go everywhere” camera.

20130823-102838.jpg

In Olmsted Falls – iPod Touch Photograph

 

Garden Shed Red

Posted by Photonstopper on August 22, 2013
Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment
Photo: Wall and window of a garden shed in Milan, Ohio. Photo by James Guilford.

Garden Shed Red

We had a lovely time Sunday exploring the little town of Milan, Ohio. Milan’s claim to fame is that it was the birthplace of inventor Thomas A. Edison. The American icon spent the first six years of his life in Milan and maintained a lifelong fondness for the place. We purchased tickets and received an informative and personal guided tour of the residence. She Who Must Be Obeyed carried her camera and shot enough photos of the objects in the house that her collection could serve inventory purposes! I carried my iPod Touch and shot only one space — the light coming in through a tiny, narrow dormer on the second floor. We toured the grounds on our own and then walked around the village square. I shot quite a few scenes of old buildings and the like and it would be worthwhile returning one day to do some more. My favorite shot of the day, however, was of the wall and window of a garden shed. The wall was a velvet red and the contrasting white window frame and mullions showed signs of their age.

Photo: Window dormer upstairs at the Thomas Edison birthplace, Milan, Ohio. Photo by James Guilford.

Spooky Window Upstairs at Thomas Edison Birthplace

Stalking the stalkers

Posted by Photonstopper on August 17, 2013
Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . 2 Comments
Photo: Great Blue Heron, by James Guilford.

Great Blue Heron Stalking Prey

The weather was splendid today, if slightly cool for August in Northeastern Ohio. We took a little jaunt down to the Ira Road area of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park to walk the wetlands boardwalk portion of the Towpath Trail. It wasn’t long before we spotted the first, and boldest, of three Great Blue Herons. This big guy was perfectly happy to stand in the shallow waters of the abandoned canal stalking prey as we watched from the nearby trail. I’ve a wonderful set of shots of the big bird staring, preening, and yawning. This closeup, however, is my favorite and possibly my prettiest shot of a heron yet.

Photo: Great Blue Heron strikes to catch prey, by James Guilford.

Great Blue Herons Strikes, Full-Force, to Catch Prey

The heron was, however, all about making a living and we as we watched it spotted something between the lily pads and, with lightning speed, struck at its prey full-force. Whatever the would-be lunch was, it got away this time, leaving the heron thrashing in the water, even appearing embarrassed as it flapped up to a log to shake off water and shame.

Photo: Green Heron stalking prey. by James Guilford.

Green Heron Spots Something

Within sight of the big bird I thought I saw something much smaller and less familiar but I wasn’t sure. Was it an upturned lily pad or, yes (!), a Green Heron! Typically skittish I fully expected the little thing to rocket skyward as I approached on the trail. Like it’s giant cousin, however, the Green wasn’t shy and went about its business with us watching. It had been about two years since I’d last seen a Green Heron and this was a welcome sight.

It was a great day (and photographically productive) in the soft sunlight and fresh air spent stalking the stalkers!